Pulverized coal carbonization process



May 17, 1932- c. E. LUCKE PULVERIZED COAL CARBONIZATION PROCESS Filed Oct. 30, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 z; INVENTOR BY W p/mq I ATTORNEYJ May 17, 1932. c. E. LUCKE PULVERIZED COAL CARBONIZATIQN PROCESS Filed Oct. 50, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 V INVENTOR v g zd 5 May 17, 1932. c, LUCKE v PULVERIZED COAL CARBONIZATION PROCESS 'Fil ed Oct. 50, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 OOOOOO INVENTOR W411 wm ATTORNEYS 20 shown) Patented Ma y 17, 1932 3- UNITED: STATES I PATENT nor-Pica OZFABLES E. 'LUcxE, on NEW YORK, N. Y, ASSIGNOR TO THE imncbcx .& wrnco xcom *PANY, or BAYONNE, NEW JEEsEY, A CORPORATION or NEW-JERSEY r'U vEEIzEn COAL CARBONIZATION' PROCESS Application filed October 30, 1928. Serial No. 316,083.

This invention relates to process and apparatus for treating pulverized coal so as "to produce valuable products andat the same time generate steam for power purposes.

The invention will be understood from the description in connection'with the-accompanying drawings in which Fig. l'is a side view, partly diagrammatic, showing an illustrative arrangement of apparatus for carrym ing out the invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the high pressure bo1ler;-

.- 4) to make a two pass path of the furnace Fig. 3- is a section along the line 3-8 of 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical section similar to Fig.

2, showing a modification of/the boiler; Fig.

5 is a vertical section showing separators and low pressure boilers; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the separators.

In the drawings reference character 1 indicates a ipe or conduit from a source (not i powdered coal, leading to the inlet header 2 of a coal carbonizer that comprises tubes 3.that may pass back and forth across the gas path of the high pressure water 1 tube boiler terminating in the carbonizer 28 outlet header 4. A pipe 5 leads fromthe outlet header 4 tangentlally into the'cyclone separator 6, from which a pipe 7 leads to another separator 8, from the upper portion of which an outlet pipe 9 leads to a low pressure I so boiler 10. A gas outlet 11 is provided at the lower ortion of the boiler and a valved liquid outlet ipe 12 is provided at the bottom thereof. onduits' 13 and 14 lead from the bottom ofthe separators 6 and 8,

' =5 respectively, to the low pressure boiler 15.

The furnace (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) of the 'boiler is provided with fuel by means of one or more burners 21 and a water tube boiler of the Babcock & Wilcox type is illustrated 40 in position above the furnace 20. v A branch pipe 22 leads from the powdered coal pipe 1 a to the burners 21.

A water tube boiler is provided with the usual steam and water drum 23,. banks of inclined tubes 24 and 24, downtake headers 25 and'uptake headers 26 connectedto the drum 23. A. pipe 27 leads from the steamspaceof the steam and water drum '23 to the high pressure superheater 28, from which a pipe 29 leads away;

The boiler may be provided with baflles 39 (Fig. 2) to make three .passes of the gases across water tubes, the gases passing through the conduit 31 and thence through the air heater 32 to the stack. The boiler may, however, be provided with a baflle "(Fig.

gases across water tubes or be otherwise baflied. A low pressure steam'superheater 35 may be located between banks of inclined w tubes'24, this, superheater being provided carbonizer header 2 with a jet or. spray 36 to cause the steam to operate as a conveyor with an outlet pipe 36 that leads'into the for the pulverized coal particles in suspen-- 65 pressor 39, fromwhich an outlet pipe 40 leads to the inlet of the superheater 35. The

compressor 39 is driven by a high pressure I steam turbine 41 by steam that enters it from a branch pipe extending from the steam outlet 29. The exhaust steam from the turbine 41' passes through the pipe 40 into the low pressure superheater 35. The remainder of boiler may pass" through the steam pipev 42 for power generating or other pu oses.

The separators 6 and 8 and the low pressure steam boilers 10 and 15 are shown more in detail in Figs; 5 and 6. A gate or valve 45 is provided in the conduit 13 at the lower end of, the cyclone separator 6. An extension 46 from the outlet 7 projects downwardly into the cyclone separator 6 and thelarger solid particles are not carried. hrough the pipe 7. The separator 8 is provlded with a central pipe 47 tapering along the outside from the the high pressure steam generated. in the x middle toward both ends and is surrounded by a cylinder 48 spaced from the pipe 47 to provide the tapering annular spaces between the two, which first increase and then decrease the velocity, the cylinder 48 being perforated above the narrowest portion of the annular space between the pipe 47 and cylinder 48. Concentric partitions 49 are provided around the cylinder 48 having conical upper ends fitting around the perforated part of the cylinder 48, so that the mixture of solid particles and the ases or vapors in which they are suspende% entering tangentially the'annular space from the pipe 7 is separated by centrifugal force, the solid particles passing out through the perforations and between the partitions 49 to the lower portion of the separator 8, while the velocity is increasing, and the gases passing to the lower ends of the pipe 47 at a decreasing velocity, as indicated by the arrows, and thence upwardly through the pipe 47 with further decrease of velocity and out through the pipe 9. A gate or valve 50 is provided in the conilgit 14 between the separator 8 and the boiler The low pressure boiler 10 comprises inclined tubes 51 connected at their ends to tube sheets 52, so that the hot gases and vapor passmg through the pipe 9 then pass through the tu cs 51 and heat them, thereby becoming cooler and condensing some of the vapor. The tubes 51 are surrounded withwater that enters from the steam and water drum 53 through the circulator tubes 54. The steam or mixture of steam and water passes through the circulator tubes 55 to the steam and water drum 53. The water level in the '46 boiler 10 can be maintained about the middle of the-steam and water drum 53 in any convement way.

The low pressure steam boiler 15 comprises inclined tubes connected to downtake' headers 61 and uptake headers 62 that are connected by nipples 63 and 64, respectively, to the steam and water drums 65. The water spaces of the steam and water drums 65 are conhected by one or more pipes 6,6 and the steam spaces thereof are connected by one or more pipes 67. The water level in the boiler 15 may he kept "at about the middle of the drum 65 .in any convenient way. Vertical partitions 68 extend across the tubes 60 and the spaces between the lower ends of these partitions are provided with valved outlets 69 and a valved outlet 7 O for coke is rovided at the lower end of the boiler casng. A branch 71 may extend from the outlet 7 O to the burners 21.

The operation is as follows: The pulverized coal enters from the pipe 1, together with superheated steam from the ipe 36, into the carbonizer comprising the eader 2, tubes 3 and header 4, which carbonizer heated by hot gases after they have passed across some of the steam generating tubes of the boiler to give the gases a suitable temperature. The carbonizer is indicated as being located in the gas passes, where the gases are hot enough to heat the coal to a temperature somewhere between about 900 F. and 1500 F. and not so hot as to damage the tubes. Volatile products are distilled off from the coal in suspension, thus producing coke in suspension with which the steam present may react in part to form water gas when a sufiiciently high temperature is malntained. The process products including the hydrocarbons that have been distilled off, uncombined steam and coke particles with or without some water gas pass through the pipe 5 tangentially into the cyclone separator 6 where the heavier solid particles of coke are separated and pass into the low pressure boiler 15 through the conduit 13. The gaseous and vapor products and the lighter solid particles pass through the pipe 7 into the second separator 8 where the finer particles are separated and pass through the conduit 14 into the boiler 15. The hot gases, residue, steam and volatilized hydrocarbons pass through the pipe 9 into the low pressure boiler 10 where they are cooled, the uncondensed gases passing through the gas outlet pipe ll to gas washers or purifiers, and the condensed liquid hydrocarbons and water being withdrawn through thevalved outlet pipe 12. The heat given up by the gasous and vapor products in the tubes of the boiler 10 generates steam that collects in the steam and water drum 53, and then passes through the pipe 38 along with steam from the boiler 15 through the steam compressor 39 to the low pressure superheater 35, and thence through the pipe 36 into the carbomzer.

The hot coke particles passing through the conduits 13 and 14, pass into the boiler 15 between the partitions 68. The valves 69 at the bottom of the partitions are adjusted so that the particles of coke remain in contact with or pass slowly along the outside surfaces of the tubes 16', long enough to give up theirheat to the same, and thereby generate low pressure steam. The rate at which particles of coke pass along the outside of the tubes 60 over their whole length can beregulated by adjusting separately each of the valves 69. The steam produced in the boiler 15 is not necessarily of the same pressure as that produced in the boiler 10 as reducing valves, not shown,

can be used between either. or both of these boilers and the pipe 38. A portion or all of the coke that-passes out through the outlet 70 canbe passedthrough the pipe 71 and burned replace low pressure steam as for example when starting the system. It is understood that any other source of low pressure steam may be used as for example the exhaust .of turbines, engines, pumps and the hke, or steam bled from stages of a turbine, and when available steam has sufiicient pressure it need not be passed through the compressor. While a steam turbine type of turbo-compressor is shown it is also understood that any other type may be used such as the steam et type or the cylinder type.

I claim: K

1. A coal carbonization process which comprises entraining pulverized coal in a stream, of superheated steam to form an attenuated column, removing the fluid and solid prodnets of carbonization from said column, burning some of the removed products to produce high pressure superheated steam and heat for carbonization, extracting some heat from remaining products for the production of low pressure steam, using some of the high pressure steam to compress the low pressure steam, joining the compressed low pressure steam with the high pressure steam after utilization in effecting compression, and then superheating the aforesaid combined steam with removing the fluid and solid products of carbonization from said column, utilizing the sensible heat in said products for creatinglow pressure steam, burning some of the prodnets of carbonization for producing high pressure superheated steam and heat for carbonization, and superheating the low pressure steam with some of the heat of the burning products after compressing said low pres sure steamwith high pressure steam.

CHARLES E. 'LUCKE.

. some of the heat from the burning products.

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2. A coal carbonization process which comprises entraining pulverized coal in a stream of superheated steam to form an attenuated column, removing the fluid and-solid products of carbonization from said column, burning some of the removed solid products to produce high pressure superheated steam and heat for carbonization, extracting some heat from remaining products for the production of low pressure steam, using some of'the high pressure steam to compress the low pressure steam, joining the compressed low pressure steam with the high pressure steam after utilization in effecting compression, then superheating the aforesaid combined steam with some of the heat from the burning solid products.

3. A coal carbonization process which com I prises entraining pulverized coal in a stream of superheated steam to form an attenuated column, removing the fluid and solid prodnets of carbonization from said column, burning some of the removed solid products to produce high pressure superheated steam and heat for carbonization, extracting sensible heat from the products for the production of low pressure steam, using some of the high pressure steam to compress the low pressure steam, joining the compressed'low pressure steam with the high pressure steam after utilization in eflecting compression, and then superheatingthe aforesaid combined steam with some of the heat from the burning products. v v 4. A coal carbonization process'which comprises entraining coal in a stream of superheated steam to form an attenuated column, 

